Automated test equipment (ATE) can be any testing assembly that performs a test on a device, semiconductor wafer or die, etc. ATE assemblies may be used to execute automated tests that quickly perform measurements and generate test results that can then be analyzed. An ATE assembly may be anything from a computer system coupled to a meter, to a complicated automated test assembly that may include a custom, dedicated computer control system and many different test instruments that are capable of automatically testing electronics parts and/or semiconductor wafer testing, such as system-on-chip (SOC) testing or integrated circuit testing.
The test results that are provided from an ATE assembly may then be analyzed to evaluate electronic components being tested. Such test result evaluations may be, for example, a part of a statistical process control method. In one exemplary embodiment, process control methods may be used to monitor and control a manufacturing process to ensure that the manufacturing process is producing the desired product, e.g., semiconductor devices at a desired level of efficiency and at a desired level of quality. Changes to the manufacturing process and/or test process may then be implemented in follow-on production runs based upon the analysis of the test results.
Prior methods of developing the applications and/or process control methods to program ATE assemblies have been inefficient because the interfaces to configure the process control methods have been tightly coupled to the manufacturing process. For example, different released versions of the test software implementing the process control methods were compatible with different manufacturing processes. The developer was therefore faced with supporting a wide range of test software versions without the help of integrated development tools. Further, these dependencies hindered the integration of existing customer frameworks.
As a result, field engineers had to customize the test software separately for each manufacturing process and each respective client. Also, the clients would further customize the test software to suit their test own testing needs. The man-hours spent in the customization process resulted in considerable inefficiencies in the field. Additionally, the various versions of the test software made providing support to the customers difficult and inefficient for the field engineers and manufacturers of test equipment.
Prior developers of ATE hardware and software have attempted to decouple interfaces from manufacturing processes with limited success. Attempts to decouple the interfaces have incurred a cost of complexity that limits usability and acceptance. Further, prior solutions have incurred run time costs that are a critical disadvantage during the test cycle.